Highway 62 CorridorOpen houses set September 18-19

The Highway 62 Corridor teams, meeting regularly for past two years, are now planning an open house later this month to get feedback on three project concepts.

“The open houses will show the three current designs, and we’re hoping to get some constructive comments from the public,” said Debbie Timms, ODOT project leader.

The Highway 62 corridor from Medford to White City experiences some of the heaviest traffic and congestion in southern Oregon. The volume of traffic in the corridor is similar to that found on Interstate 5 north of Medford.

Safety is another concern on the corridor. Crash rates from Poplar Drive to Delta Waters Road and from Corey Road to Antelope Road exceed the statewide rate, primarily because of the volume of traffi c and roadways and driveways located between those points.

Two project open houses are scheduled for September. Both will show concepts for the entire corridor and design concepts for the north and south ends of the project. The first is Monday, Sept. 18, from 6-8 p.m. at the Winema Girl Scout Council office, 2001 N. Keene Way. The other is Tuesday, Sept. 19 from 6-8 p.m. at the Rogue Family Center, 3131 Ave. C, White City.

“We’ve reached out to the businesses and industrial users on the north and south parts of the corridor earlier this spring and summer and received some excellent feedback,” Timms said.

THE CURRENT CONCEPTS INCLUDE:

Texas Turnaround (named for its use in the Lone Star state): This would make Highway 62 an access-controlled freeway with one-way frontage roads on the sides.

Existing Highway Alternative: This would make Highway 62 an access-controlled freeway with frontage and backage roads to serve the commercial and business addresses.

Bypass Alternative: This would allow through traffic to travel on an access-controlled bypass and leave Highway 62 as is with full access to streets and driveways.

The project Environmental Impact Statement is scheduled for completion in 2007, with the first of several phases to the project scheduled for construction by 2010.